Short Communication

Development of an Antiviral Screening Protocol: One-Stone-Two-birds

1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612

2Program for Collaborative Research in the Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 833 S. Wood Street, Chicago, IL 60612, USA

*Corresponding Author:

Dr. Emily Rumschlag-Booms
Department of Microbiology and Immunology
College of Medicine Research Building
University of Illinois at Chicago
8040 COMRB, 909 S. Wolcott Avenue, Chicago, IL 60612Tel: (312)996-0110Fax: (312)996-6415E-mail:[email protected]

Received Date: December 02, 2010; Accepted Date: January 05, 2011; Published Date: January 07, 2011

Abstract

As prophylactic therapies and vaccines against viral infections continue to improve, drug resistant strains are continuing to arise; therefore it is imperative to develop new therapeutics against these diseases. For highly pathogenic viruses, such as Ebola and H5N1 influenza virus, the need for antivirals is even more urgent due to limited therapeutics against these viruses. Furthermore, the high pathogenicity of such viruses often makes it difficult to work with such agents. In this report, we describe a protocol called “One-stone-two-birds” which provides a safe and efficient screening system to identify anti-flu (entry) and anti-HIV (replication) activities. Using plant extracts as an example, we demonstrate the utility of this protocol in antiviral screening.